Article moving apparatus configured for a molding machine

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an article moving apparatus configured to move an article relative to a first mold half and a second mold half of a molding machine. The article moving apparatus includes an arm configured to grasp and release the article, and also include an arm reciprocating structure configured to reciprocate the arm between an in-mold position and an out-mold position relative to the first mold half and the second mold half, and to be selectively retractable away from an abutment relationship relative to any one of the first mold half and the second mold half.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to molding machines, and morespecifically, the present invention relates to an article movingapparatus configured for molding machines, and molding machines thatinclude same.

BACKGROUND

U.S. Pat. No. 4,368,018 (hereinafter referred to as the '018; Inventors:Rees, et al; Assignee: Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd.) discloses atransporter for transporting articles or inserts in connection with amolding machine. Inadvertently during normal operation, a molded articlemay become jammed within a mold, and/or may not cooperate with amaterial pick-up head of the transporter. A molding machine operatormust then manually retrieve the molded article jammed in the mold. Onoccasion, the operator would have to detach (that is, mechanicallydisengage) the transporter from the mold, and then separate the mold inorder to gain access to the jammed molded article. Disadvantageously,time taken to disconnect and reconnect the transporter may undesirablyincrease the downtime of the molding machine and thereby lowerthroughput efficiency (that is, the number of parts molded per minute).

U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,597 (hereinafter referred to as the '597; Inventors:McGinley et al; Assignee: Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd.)discloses a swing chute system for removing articles from a mold. Theswing chute cannot be moved in and out of the mold until the mold hasbeen sufficiently translated apart. Disadvantageously, when the articlebecomes jammed within the mold, the operator would have to detach theswing chute from the mold and/or molding machine in order to retrievethe jammed molded article.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,840 (hereinafter referred to as the '840; Inventor:Schad; Assignee: Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd.) discloses sidechutes that are linearly translatable into and out of a mold area andare configured to pick up and remove ejected molded articles away from amold. An operator may selectively move the side chutes over to areasoutside of both sides of the mold. Disadvantageously, floor space thatis taken up by the chutes moving over to these areas will reduce theamount of available floor space that could have been assigned to otherproduction equipment.

SUMMARY

According to first aspect of the present invention, there is provided anarticle moving apparatus configured to move an article relative to afirst mold half and a second mold half of a molding machine, the articlemoving apparatus including an arm configured to grasp and release thearticle, and an arm reciprocating structure configured to reciprocatethe arm between an in-mold position and an out-mold position relative tothe first mold half and the second mold half, and to be selectivelyretractable away from an abutment relationship relative to any one ofthe first mold half and the second mold half.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda molding machine, including a first mold half, a second mold halfconfigured to cooperate with the first mold half, and an article movingapparatus configured to move an article relative to the first mold halfand the second mold half, including an arm configured to grasp andrelease the article, and an arm reciprocating structure configured toreciprocate the arm between an in-mold position and an out-mold positionrelative to the first mold half and the second mold half, and to beselectively retractable away from an abutment relationship relative toany one of the first mold half and the second mold half.

A technical effect realized by the first and the second aspects of thepresent invention is that less floor space is used up by the articlemoving apparatus so that more factory equipment may be installed onto afactory floor.

Another technical effect realized by the first and the second aspects ofthe present invention is that the article moving apparatus is easier tomanipulate when managing jammed articles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described withreference to the following Figures and the detailed description, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a top view of an Article Moving Apparatus (AMA) in combinationwith a molding machine;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the AMA of FIG. 1 in an in-moldposition;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the AMA of FIG. 1 in a out-moldposition;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the AMA of FIG. 1 in the in-moldposition;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the AMA of FIG. 1 in the out-moldposition; and

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the AMA of FIG. 1 in a maintenancemode.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is the top view of the Article Moving Apparatus (AMA) 100 incombination with a molding machine 10. The AMA 100 is configured to movean article, which was molded by the mold halves 12, 14, away from themold halves 12, 14 and/or the AMA 100 is configured to move and place amold insert within the mold halves 12, 14 prior to molding a newarticle. The molding machine 10 is shown as an injection moldingmachine. The molding machine 10 is configured to support the AMA 100relative to the mold halves 12, 14, or alternatively another structure(not depicted) is configured to support the AMA 100 relative to the moldhalves 12, 14. During each injection cycle, the molding machine 10 moldsarticles corresponding to a mold cavity or mold cavities defined bycomplementary mold halves 12, 14 located within the machine 10. Thecomplementary mold half 12 is also referred to as a stationary moldhalf, and the complementary mold half 14 is also known as a moving moldhalf. The machine 10 includes, without specific limitation, a stationaryplaten 16, a movable platen 17 as well as an injection unit 18 forplasticizing and injecting a molding material into the mold cavities. Inoperation, the movable platen 17 is moved relative to the stationaryplaten 16 by means of stroke cylinders (not shown) or the like. A clampforce is developed in the machine 10, as will readily be appreciated,through the use of tie bars 19, 20 and a tie-bar clamping mechanism 21.The clamping mechanism 21 is (generally) fixedly attached to the movingplaten 17. The clamping mechanism 21 extends at least partially into acorresponding bore 22 that extends through the moving platen 17 at thecorners thereof. It is usual that a floating end 23 of the tie-bar 19,20 is free to move relative to the moving platen 17, with the otherremote end anchored into the stationary platen 16.

FIG. 2 is the perspective view of the AMA 100 of FIG. 1 in an in-moldposition. The moving platen 17 has been removed from this perspectiveview to improve the view of the AMA 100. In the in-mold position, themold halves 12, 14 are spread apart from each other.

Generally, the AMA 100 includes an arm 142 which is configured to graspand release an article by using, for example, suction cups attached tovacuum tubing which is in turn attached to a vacuum generator.

The AMA 100 also includes an arm reciprocating structure 126, 135, 136,137 configured to reciprocate the arm 142 between the in-mold positionand an out-mold position relative to the mold 12, 14 along a directionperpendicular to a clamp axis of the machine 10. The arm reciprocatingstructure 126, 135, 136, 137 is configured to normally abut against, andto selectively retract away from, any one of the mold halves 12, 14along the clamp axis of the machine 10. The arm reciprocating structure126, 135, 136, 137 is itself aligned along the clamp axis, and isoptionally configured to substantially operate within a footprint of themold 12, 14.

A frame 124 and a frame 140 are attached to and extend from thestationary mold half 12 and the moving mold half 14 respectively. Inalternative embodiments (not depicted), the frame 124 is not includedand the stationary platen 16 acts as a replacement for the frame 124 orthe frame 124 extends from the platen 16. Alternatively, the frame 140is not included and the moving platen 17 acts as a replacement for theframe 140 or the frame 140 extends form the platen 17.

The AMA 100 includes a cylinder 136 that cooperates with the frame 124,and is biased to resiliently urge against the frame 140. The cylinder136 is not positively attached or connected to the frame 140 but itnormally abuts the frame 140 and is selectively retractable away fromthe frame 140. In an alternative embodiment (not depicted), the cylinder136 cooperates with the frame 124 in the manner that it cooperates withthe frame 140.

The AMA 100 includes a sleeve 126 that is rotatably mounted to the frame124. The sleeve 126 is configured to rotate in response to a relativetranslational motion between the cylinder 136 and the sleeve 126 uponthe mold halves 12, 14 opening and closing relative to each other. Inalternative arrangements, the sleeve 126 is rotatably mounted to theframe 140. A sleeve bearing (not depicted) is placed between the frame124 and the sleeve 126, which allows the sleeve 126 to be rotatablymounted to the frame 124. The cylinder 136 fits within the sleeve 126and slides non-rotationally relative to the sleeve 126. In otheralternative arrangements, the frames 124, 140 are not included with theAMA 100 but are supplied separately.

The arm 142 is attached to and extends from the sleeve 126. The arm 142is configured to grasp and release the article. The arm 142 is rotatablymoved in response to a rotational movement of the sleeve 126. Thecylinder 136 provides an outer-facing circumferential surface thatdefines a pathway groove 137 thereon that wraps around the outer-facingcircumferential surface at least in part. A pathway follower 135 dependsfrom the sleeve 126 and also fits into the groove 137. The groove 137and the groove follower 135 combine to operate as a motion converterthat converts a relative translational motion between the cylinder 136and the sleeve 126 into a rotational motion of the sleeve 126. When thearm 142 is moved into and out from the in-mold position, the cylinder136 is biased to extend and remain in abutting relationship with theframe 140. In other arrangements, the cylinder 136 retractably abutsagainst any one of the stationary mold half 12 and/or the moving moldhalf 14, and/or the sleeve 126 is rotatably mounted to which ever of thestationary mold half 12 and the moving mold half 14 that does not abutagainst the cylinder 136.

In operation, when the mold halves 12, 14 are translated apart from eachother, the cylinder 136 is urged to translate away from the frame 124while remaining continually abutting against the frame 140. In response,the follower 135 follows the curved groove 137, and the sleeve 126rotates. As the sleeve 126 rotates, the arm 142 will then rotatably movefrom the out-mold position to the in-mold position.

One technical effect of the AMA 100 is the operator may avoid wastingtime on mechanically disconnecting the cylinder 136 from the mold half14 in the event that the operator must access an article jammed in themold halves 12, 14 because the cylinder 136 may be easily retracted awayfrom the moving mold half 14. Another technical effect is that the AMA100 may remain substantially within an envelope, or a footprint, of themolding machine 10, which helps to permit adding more factory equipmentonto a limited factory floor space.

FIG. 3 is the perspective view of the AMA 100 of FIG. 1 in the out-moldposition. The arm 142 is shown in the out-mold position, in which thecylinder 136 is retracted (and is no longer visible) towards the frame124 while being urged to continually abut against the frame 140. The arm142 includes a material handling head 143 adapted to handle (that is,pick-up and release) the article. The head 143 includes suction cups orother article gripping and article releasing mechanisms.

With reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in operation, when the mold halves12, 14 are translated towards each other from the mold-opened positionto the mold-closed position, the frame 140 pushes against and urges thecylinder 136 to translate towards the frame 124 while continuallyabutting against the frame 140. As the cylinder 136 translates towardsthe frame 124, the cylinder 136 does not substantially rotate and thegroove 137 is pushed back which forces the follower 135 to rotate as itfollows the groove 137. Since the sleeve 126 is connected to thefollower 135, the sleeve 126 responsively rotates the arm 142 from thein-mold portion to the out-mold position. Alternatively, the cylinder136 may be rotated as the frame 140 pushes the cylinder 136 towards theframe 124 provided that the groove 137 and the follower 135 interact torotate the sleeve 126.

FIG. 4 is the cross sectional view of the AMA 100 of FIG. 1 in thein-mold position. The cross section is taken along a longitudinal axisextending between the mold halves 12, 14 and through the AMA 100. Themold halves 12, 14 are in the mold-opened position.

The material handling head 143 is shown handling an article 15. A piston130 is fixedly attached to the frame 124 and extends into the cylinder136. The piston 130 is cooperatively slidable within the cylinder 136. Avolume inside the cylinder 136 located in front of the piston 130defines a fluid-holding chamber 138 that is configured to hold acompressible fluid therein, such as compressed air and the like. Anothervolume inside the cylinder 136 located between the piston 130 and thecover 131 defines another fluid-holding chamber 148. The piston 130defines a maintenance-mode passageway 144 and also defines anoperation-mode passageway 146 therein. The passageways 144, 146 may beconnected directly to compressed air lines (not depicted).Alternatively, the compressed air lines may be connected to secondaryair passageways defined in the frame 124, and these secondarypassageways are connected to the passageways 144, 146.

Preferably, the cylinder 136 does not rotate relative to the frames 140,124 but does linearly translate between the frames 124, 140. Oneapproach for keeping the cylinder 136 non-rotatable is by configuringthe piston 130 to have a square-shaped outer profile and the chamber 138to have a square-shaped inner profile that mates with the profile of thepiston 130 so that the chamber 138 may receive the piston 130 and theshape of the piston 130 prevents the cylinder from rotating.

When the passageway 146 becomes pressurized with compressed air and thepassageway 144 becomes depressurized of compressed air, the chamber 138becomes a synchronizing structure that is configured to synchronize areciprocating movement of the arm 142 caused by the arm reciprocatingstructure with a lateral movement of the mold 12, 14 between themold-opened position and the mold-closed position. The synchronizingstructure maintains the arm reciprocating structure in an abutmentrelationship with the frame 140 (specifically, the cylinder 136, whichis a part of the arm reciprocating structure, is maintained against theframe 140). When the passageway 146 becomes depressurized of compressedair, the chamber 138 becomes depressurized and the cylinder 136 is nolonger urged against the frame 140.

When the passageway 144 becomes pressurized with compressed air and thepassageway 146 becomes depressurized of compressed air, the chamber 148becomes a de-synchronizing structure that is configured tode-synchronize the reciprocating movement of the arm 142 caused by thearm reciprocating structure from the lateral movement of the mold 12, 14between the mold-opened position and the mold-closed position.Specifically, the compressed air in the chamber 148 will pull or retractthe cylinder 136 away from the abutment relationship with the frame 140.One or more fluid pumping or moving mechanisms (not depicted) isattached to the passageway 146 and/or 144, and is configured to move thefluid in and out of the chambers 138 and 148 respectively.

The AMA 100 operates under an operation mode or a maintenance mode. Inthe operation mode, the AMA 100 is used to move articles into or outfrom the mold halves 12, 14. In the maintenance mode, the AMA 100(specifically, the cylinder 136) is disengaged and retracted from theframe 140 so that an operator may then conveniently access any articlesjammed in the mold halves 12, 14.

In the operation mode, a sufficient amount of compressed air is pumpedinto the operation-mode passageway 146 so that the chamber 138 becomespressurized with compressed air. The amount of compressed air containedin the chamber 138 is sufficient enough so that when the mold halves 12,14 move apart and back together again, the compressed air resilientlyurges the cylinder 136 to remain in a resiliently abutting relationshipwith the frame 140. The maintenance-mode passageway 144 is not connectedand pressurized with compressed air while the AMA 100 operates in theoperation mode.

In the maintenance mode, compressible air is disconnected from theoperation-mode passageway 146, which discharges compressed air from thechamber 138. Then compressible air is attached to and charges up themaintenance-mode passageway 144 and the chamber 148. The compressed airfilled within the chamber 148 forces the cylinder 136 back towards thestationary mold half 12 thereby the cylinder 136 becomes retracted awayfrom the moving mold half 14.

FIG. 5 is the cross sectional view of the AMA 100 of FIG. 1 in theout-mold position. The AMA 100 is shown operating in the productionmode. The mold halves 12, 14 are in the mold-closed position. By way ofa clamping mechanism, the mold half 14 is moved over to abut against themold half 12. As the mold half 14 moves towards the mold half 12, theframe 140 is made to urge and push against the cylinder 136. Thepassageway 146 remains pressurized so as to substantially prevent airfrom leaving the chamber 138 so that the cylinder 136 may then continueto be urged against and abut the frame 140. The passageway 144 remainsun-pressurized sufficiently enough so as to not impede the biasing ofthe cylinder 136 towards the frame 140. Since the piston 130 is firmlyattached to the frame 124, the cylinder 136 will slide over the piston130 towards the frame 124, and the air contained in the chamber 138becomes even more compressed. When the mold half 14 is moved away fromthe mold half 12, the compressed air contained in the chamber 138 urgesthe cylinder 136 to maintain abutting engagement with the frame 140. Thefollower 135 will follow the groove 137 as the cylinder 136 moves thegroove 137 and the arm 142 responsively rotates from the out-moldposition back to the in-mold position. A charge of compressed air isheld during normal molding operation, and the charge of compressed airis selectively released so as to retract the cylinder 137 and move thearm 142.

FIG. 6 is the cross sectional view of the AMA 100 of FIG. 1 in themaintenance mode. By valving compressed air into and out from thepassageways 144, 146, the cylinder 136 can be retracted from itsabutting relationship with the frame 140 so that the AMA 100 may beconveniently placed in the maintenance mode when an operator needs toremove an article that has been inadvertently jammed in the mold halves12, 14. To manually retract the cylinder 136 away from the frame 140,air pressure connected to the passageway 146 is released orsignificantly reduced while air pressure connected to the passageway 144is increased so that the air accumulating within chamber 148 maysufficiently retract the cylinder 136 away from the frame 140.

It will be appreciated that some elements may be adapted for specificconditions or functions. The concepts described above may be furtherextended to a variety of other applications that are clearly within thescope of the present invention. Having thus described the embodiments,it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications andenhancements are possible without departing from the concepts asdescribed. Therefore, what is intended to be protected by way of letterspatent should be limited only by the scope of the following claims:

1. An article moving apparatus configured to move an article relative toa first mold half and a second mold half of a molding machine, thearticle moving apparatus comprising: an arm configured to grasp andrelease the article; and an arm reciprocating structure configured toreciprocate the arm between an in-mold position and an out-mold positionrelative to the first mold half and the second mold half, and said armreciprocating structure being further configured to: abut against a moldhalf, and be selectively retractable from abutment with said mold halfto allow operator access to faces of said first mold half and saidsecond mold half, wherein the arm reciprocating structure includes: asynchronizing structure configured to synchronize a reciprocatingmovement of the arm caused by the arm reciprocating structure with alateral movement of the first mold half and the second mold between amold-opened position and a mold-closed position, and to maintain the armreciprocating structure in an abutment relationship with any one of thesecond mold half and the first mold half.
 2. The article movingapparatus of claim 1, wherein: the arm reciprocating structure isconfigured to be substantially aligned along an opening and closingdirection of the first mold half and the second mold half.
 3. Thearticle moving apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the arm reciprocatingstructure further includes: a desynchronizing structure configured todesynchronize the reciprocating movement of the arm caused by the armreciprocating structure from the lateral movement of the first mold halfand the second mold half between the mold-opened position and themold-closed position, and to retract the arm reciprocating structureaway from the abutment relationship with the first mold half and thesecond mold half.
 4. The article moving apparatus of claim 1, wherein:the arm reciprocating structure is configured to selectively retract andmove the arm to a resting position located above the first mold half andthe second mold half.
 5. The article moving apparatus of claim 1,wherein: the arm reciprocating structure is attached to a stationaryplaten of the molding machine.
 6. The article moving apparatus of claim1, wherein: the arm reciprocating structure is configured to rotatablyreciprocate the arm.
 7. The article moving apparatus of claim 1,wherein: the arm reciprocating structure is configured to abut againstand to be detachably retractable from any one of the first mold half andthe second mold half.
 8. The article moving apparatus of claim 1,wherein: the arm reciprocating structure includes: a sleeve configuredto be rotatably mounted to the first mold half, and to attach to thearm; a cylinder configured to slide within the sleeve, and to detachablyabut against the second mold half; and a motion converter configured toconvert a relative translational movement between the cylinder and thesleeve into a rotational movement of the sleeve.
 9. The article movingapparatus of claim 8, wherein: the motion converter includes: a groovedefined on an outer surface of the cylinder; and a groove followerdepending from the sleeve, said groove follower being configured to:follow the groove responsive to the relative translational movementbetween the cylinder and the sleeve, and convert the relativetranslational movement into a rotational motion of the sleeve.
 10. Thearticle moving apparatus of claim 9, wherein: the groove is configuredto helicoidally wrap around the outer surface of the cylinder.
 11. Thearticle moving apparatus of claim 8, wherein: the cylinder defines afluid-holding chamber therein, the fluid-holding chamber is configuredto hold a compressible fluid therein, the compressible fluid isconfigured to urge the cylinder into an abutting relationship with anyone of the second mold half and the first mold half.
 12. The articlemoving apparatus of claim 8, further comprising: a fluid moverconfigured to move a compressible fluid in and out of a fluid-holdingchamber.
 13. The article moving apparatus of claim 8, wherein: the armreciprocating structure further includes: a piston configured to attachwith any one of the second mold half and the first mold half, and tocooperate with a compressible fluid held in chamber.
 14. The articlemoving apparatus of claim 13, wherein: the piston and the cylinder areconfigured to be non-rotatable relative to each other.
 15. The articlemoving apparatus of claim 13, wherein: the piston is configured to havea square-shaped outer profile; the chamber is configured to have asquare-shaped inner profile; the cylinder is configured to have acylindrically-shaped outer surface; and the sleeve is configured todefine a cylindrically-shaped inner surface for receiving the cylindertherein.
 16. The article moving apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the arm,reciprocating structure is substantially operable within a footprint ofthe first mold half and the second mold half.
 17. The article movingapparatus of claim 1, wherein: the arm reciprocating structure isselectively retractable along a clamp axis of the molding machine. 18.The article moving apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the first mold half isa stationary mold half; and the second mold is a movable mold half. 19.A molding machine, comprising: a first mold half; a second mold halfconfigured to cooperate with the first mold half; and an article movingapparatus configured to move an article relative to the first mold halfand the second mold half, including: an arm configured to grasp andrelease the article; and an arm reciprocating structure configured toreciprocate the arm between an in-mold position and an out-mold positionrelative to the first mold half and the second mold half, and furtherconfigured to: abut against a mold half, and be selectively retractableaway from an abutment relationship relative to said mold half to allowoperator access to faces of said first mold half and said second moldhalf, wherein the arm reciprocating structure includes: a synchronizingstructure configured to synchronize a reciprocating movement of the armcaused by the arm reciprocating structure with a lateral movement of thefirst mold half and the second mold between a mold-opened position and amold-closed position, and to maintain the arm reciprocating structure inthe abutment relationship with any one of the second mold half and thefirst mold half.
 20. The molding machine of claim 19, wherein: the armreciprocating structure is configured to be substantially aligned alongan opening and closing direction of the first mold half and the secondmold half.
 21. The molding machine of claim 19, wherein: the armreciprocating structure further includes: a desynchronizing structureconfigured to desynchronize the reciprocating movement of the arm causedby the arm reciprocating structure from the lateral movement of thefirst mold half and the second mold half between the mold-openedposition and the mold-closed position, and to retract the armreciprocating structure away from the abutment relationship with thefirst mold half and the second mold half.
 22. The molding machine ofclaim 19, wherein: the arm reciprocating structure is configured toselectively retract and move the arm to a resting position located abovethe first mold half and the second mold half.
 23. The molding machine ofclaim 19, wherein: the arm reciprocating structure is attached to astationary platen of the molding machine.
 24. The molding machine ofclaim 19, wherein: the arm reciprocating structure is configured torotatably reciprocate the arm.
 25. The molding machine of claim 19,wherein: the arm reciprocating structure includes: a sleeve configuredto be rotatably mounted to the first mold half, and to attach to thearm; a cylinder configured to slide within the sleeve, and to detachablyabut against the second mold half; and a motion converter configured toconvert a relative translational movement between the cylinder and thesleeve into a rotational movement of the sleeve.
 26. The molding machineof claim 25, wherein: the motion converter includes: a groove defined onan outer surface of the cylinder; and a groove follower depending fromthe sleeve, said groove follower being configured to: follow the grooveresponsive to the relative translational movement between the cylinderand the sleeve, and convert the relative translational movement into arotational motion of the sleeve.
 27. The molding machine of claim 26,wherein: the groove is configured to helicoidally wrap around the outersurface of the cylinder.
 28. The molding machine of claim 25, wherein:the cylinder defines a fluid-holding chamber therein, the fluid-holdingchamber is configured to hold a compressible fluid therein, thecompressible fluid is configured to urge the cylinder into an abuttingrelationship with any one of the second mold half and the first moldhalf.
 29. The molding machine of claim 25, further comprising: a fluidmover configured to move a compressible fluid in and out of afluid-holding chamber.
 30. The molding machine of claim 25, wherein: thearm reciprocating structure further includes: a piston configured toattach with any one of the second mold half and the first mold half, andto cooperate with a compressible fluid held in chamber.
 31. The moldingmachine of claim 30, wherein: the piston and the cylinder are configuredto be non-rotatable relative to each other.
 32. The molding machine ofclaim 30, wherein: the piston is configured to have a square-shapedouter profile; the chamber is configured to have a square-shaped innerprofile; the cylinder is configured to have a cylindrically-shaped outersurface; and the sleeve is configured to define a cylindrically-shapedinner surface for receiving the cylinder therein.
 33. The moldingmachine of claim 19, wherein: the arm reciprocating structure issubstantially operable within a footprint of the first mold half and thesecond mold half.
 34. The molding machine of claim 19, wherein: the armreciprocating structure is selectively retractable along a clamp axis ofthe molding machine.
 35. The molding machine of claim 19, wherein: thefirst mold half is a stationary mold half; and the second mold is amovable mold half.